The Art of Naming Characters

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Syn Opsis, Jan 6, 2010.

  1. KP Williams

    KP Williams Active Member

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    I usually just pick a name I like and stick it on. I have a character named Paige who is quiet, bookish, and relentlessly logical. Every Paige I know in reality is flamboyant and hyper... and obsessed with Twilight. It's mere coincidence that Paige is pronounced the same way as page. That's not what I was thinking about when I named her.

    But there are occasions when I like to match the name to the character, just not in an overly obvious way. Another character has extraordinary supernatural power that lets her reshape certain things to suit her liking. Her name is Taylor. :rolleyes:

    Anyway, for the most part, I don't think it really matters if the name matches the personality. I don't care if my gallant hero's name is Morgan (a dark-sounding name, in my opinion), or if my abominable villain is named Gabby. As long as I like it, and as long as it doesn't stand out to the point of being distracting, I don't see a problem.
     
  2. MCWhite

    MCWhite New Member

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    I don't bother much with names either, probably because I practically ignore them when reading. I don't care if a character's name is Jack or Zwert. In most of the stories I write, I don't give my characters names at all. "The man", "the boy", whatever. I'm aware this is a practice many people loathe, but it works and I don't have to resort to naming. I hate naming as much as I hate giving physical descriptions. Both are most often meaningless and unnecessary for progression of the story.

    It annoys me when people spend more time coming up with a name than actually writing the dang story.
     
  3. Mr What

    Mr What New Member

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    For me it's 99% instinct.

    I found my names when I put in tons of effort or research into meaning or just generally overthinking it were exceptionally bad
     
  4. SirSamkin

    SirSamkin Member

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    it depends.

    It all depends. When I name my characters, I choose a name from their culture. For example, I write mainly Celtic/Scottish psudo-cultures in my stories/manuscripts. So If I had a guy who was strong and reclusive, I might call him "Blaez", which is Old Brenton for "Wolf". But in the end, the choice is entirerly up to you. :D
     
  5. penhobby

    penhobby New Member

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    I write sci-fi romance and I learned a neat little trick right here on this forum. I cannot remember the thread exactly, but it was advised that when searching for alien names, I should try and google Greek or foreign names, and then just give them a slight twist. This has worked very well for me. I took the name Errikos, and changed it to Arikose for one of my leading men. When I named my boys, I spent hours pouring over names, until I found the perfect one. Make no mistake, your character is your baby and their name is just as crucial! Research names again and again if you have to, and just play with them until they fit the character, after all no one knows your character better than you do.
     

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